Hansen referred to Clifford as the lawyer to turn to “when bad things happen.”

Aside from additional boaters on the waters who need to take extra precautions such as knowing CPR and storing sufficient life preservers for all on board, Clifford spoke about the increased number of bicycles, cars, trains, and trucks on the roads, creating the potential for more accidents. He also spoke about an uptick in medical malpractice cases because the “A-team” of medical professionals are on vacation and the “B-team” often operates at a lesser level on complicated medical problems.

To listen to the half-hour in its entirety, click here.

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However, just like driving a car, some dangers come with operating any motorized machine.

Illinois Boating Accident Statistics

Ignoring safety precautions and laws can lead to critical injuries and even wrongful death. In FFY 2020, the last year for data, 21 Illinoisans died from boating accidents. This resulted in 9.7 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.

Here is the breakdown of these fatalities:

• 15 people may have survived if they were wearing PFDs/life jackets
• 18 fatalities occurred under clear conditions and 15 under calm waters
• 20 fatalities happened under the operation of a boat owner with no formal boat safety education
• 7 of the fatalities involved alcohol/drug impairment

Tragically, many of these deaths could have been avoided.

Causes of Boating Injuries

Under Illinois and federal laws, boat owners and operators are generally held liable to the highest degree. This includes preventing injury to participants, keeping swimmers and other people using the waters safely, and preventing accidents with other boats.

Some common accidents are caused by:

• Equipment failure due to maintenance negligence
• Improper training
• Not wearing lifejackets or PFDs
• Swamping or sinking of the boat
• Falling overboard and running around
• Driving the boat at excessive speeds
• Boating during adverse weather and water conditions
• Drug and alcohol-related issues
• Failing to properly supervise children

Working with a Boating Injury Attorney

Boating incidents require knowledge of the interplay between injury and maritime law. Working with an experienced boating injury attorney can help the victim physically, mentally, and financially recover. This could include medical expenses, lost wages, future earnings, future medical care, pain and suffering, grief, sorrow and mental suffering, loss of quality of life, and other possible damage claims.

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A mother was killed and her son and nephew were injured after they slammed into the old Seven Mile Bridge during a parasailing tragedy west of Marathon, Florida, Monday afternoon.

According to an article by NBC, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating the crash.

The FWC incident report stated that while the victims were in flight, a gust of wind kicked up. The captain then cut the line tethering the victims while they were still in flight, which caused them to be dropped from an unknown height and dragged along the water until they collided with the bridge. The mom was tragically killed and the two young boys were hospitalized.

A witness at the scene, a fishing guide, said, “It was pretty much the worst thing you could imagine.”

Coast Guard Sector Key West commander, Captain Jason Ingram, said in a press release, “This was a tragedy for a family seeking to enjoy their visit to the Florida Keys. Our team and our partners at Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are investigating the accident to determine the causal factors and mitigate future casualties to make the waterways as safe as possible.”

“He never should have done that. That’s the golden rule. Do not cut the line,” said Mark McCulloh, chairman of the Florida-based Parasail Safety Council according to statements reported at Nexstar News Media. McCulloh said he has been in a similar situation but would wait for the storm to pass. “I know exactly what that captain was feeling but you never cut the boat line, no way. I would never train somebody to do that. That’s their lifeline,” McCulloh told NBC News.

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The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times and USA Today are among those reporting that the designer and entrepreneur, Robert F. McDowell, had completed only two years of college and “had no background, training or certification in mechanics when he came up with the design for ‘stretch’ duck boats.” USA Today, “Court Records show duck boat in Missouri disaster was designed by entrepreneur with no engineering training,” by Matt Pearce, July 24, 2018.

The discovery came upon an examination of a lawsuit filed over a roadway disaster in Seattle involving a similar duck boat in 2015.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the duck boat to sink on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, last week. It was carrying 31 people on a sightseeing tour, killing 17 and injuring 14 more people. U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) called the duck boats a “sinking coffin” and indicated she intends to draft federal legislation proposing stronger safety standards.

Duck boats were originally created during World War II to transport troops and cargo on land and sea. After the war ended, they reportedly became surplus items and were repurposed as pleasure crafts by tour companies across the country. Since then, they have been involved in multiple deadly accidents on the water and on roads, being amphibious vehicles.

USA Today reported that Ride the Ducks Branson vehicles were modified including lengthening the hull and reassembling the craft, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. These refurbished duck boats allegedly were designed and developed by McDowell who was “self-educated by going to auto parts stores and talking to different people,” according to the court filing. The court filing goes on to say that engineers were not consulted. McDowell’s father in the 1970s owned the duck boat company in Branson that was then called Ozark Scenic Tours. He sold the company in 2001-02.

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices and a Chicago maritime lawyer who has handled numerous cases involving boat tragedies, has been outspoken on the lack of safety and guidelines for these amphibious vessels. Recently, he was quoted in USA Today, ABC News and WGN Radio as well the National Law Journal where he was quoted by reporter Amanda Bronstad saying,

“Lawsuits will inevitably come from this tragic incident. …It is clear that the owners and operators of the boat were negligent in the decision to take the boat out in the waters, despite clear weather warnings that it was unsafe that day. In addition, surviving witnesses have stated that they were told it was unnecessary to wear life jackets. I view this as similar to wearing seat belts in a car – you are better off with having them on with the likelihood greater that they may help you. Without them, you have less of a chance of survival.”

Clifford believes the U.S. Coast Guard should place a 20 knot forecast and/or observed wind limit and no in-thunderstorm operations restriction on all duck boat in-water operations when paying passengers are on board. Clifford also believes that duck boat operators, in order to adhere to the above restrictions, should be required to check all available National Weather Service forecasts and radar sources for the area of operation within 30 minutes of embarking on in-water operations with paying passengers on board.

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It is being reported by Fox News that a mechanical inspector hired by owners of the company, Ripleys Entertainment based in Florida, hired a mechanical inspector to examine 24 duck boats that it was interested in buying at that time. Steven Paul, who served in the U.S. Army for six years as a diesel mechanic before opening his own inspection company, told Fox News that he provided Ripleys Entertainment with a two to three page fleet inspection report along with a 24-checklist report and photos in August, 2017.

He told Fox News that his reports cautioned the now owners that the boats’ engines and pumps that remove water from the hulls might fail in rough water conditions and that water could seep into the exhaust system, cutting off the motor that pumps out the water from the duck boats. Ripleys Entertainment purchased Ride the Ducks in December.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) along with the U.S. Coast Guard is inspecting the incident and said it should have a preliminary report within weeks, but a final report of the probable cause of the tragedy is not expected for at least a year.

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices and Chicago boat accident lawyer, talked to several news agencies regarding the tragic duck boat incident last Thursday that killed 17 people and injured 14 more. Clifford talked about the dangers of the duck boats and called for greater regulation of the amphibious vessels to USA Today, ABC News and WGN radio as well as The Maritime Executive.

The “black box” apparently has been recovered from the vessel, but the duck boat remains at the bottom of Table Rock Lake near Branson, Missouri, about 80 feet deep in the water, while salvage operations are expected to begin today.

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National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Member Earl Weener revealed on Saturday evening that a “black box,” similar to that found on airplanes, had been located on the submerged duck boat and has been shipped to Washington, D.C., for inspection. A preliminary report from the U.S. Coast Guard and the NTSB is expected in about a week but announced that a final determination of probable cause isn’t likely for a year.

In his press conference, Weener focused on the Ride the Ducks Branson company’s decision to go out on that specific trip despite it being subscribers to a weather subscription service. He said that wind readings of 73 miles per hour were recorded. Hurricane force wind begin at 74 miles per hour according to the National Hurricane Center as well as the National Weather Service.

Additionally, Weener reported that waves on the lake were estimated to be at four feet high but crested as high as six feet. Witnesses said the water washed into the boat during the ride before the boat capsized and sank. Efforts are being made to pull the duck boat out of the bottom of the lake.

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, a nationally recognized maritime and aviation crash law firm, spoke to USA Today on the incident and said that every passenger should have been wearing life jackets, comparing it to wearing seat belts in cars that result in a higher survival rate. “‘There’s no excuse. Whenever you’re transporting the public, you are responsible for providing the highest level of safety and that’s not what we saw here,'” he told USA Today reporter Crystal Hayes. Clifford also called for greater regulation of duck boats.

Clifford also was interviewed by ABC News reporter Bill Hutchinson, and said that the Ride the Ducks Branson should not have been on that water at all that day since the ominous weather reports issued from the morning and throughout the day should have led boat operators to forego the ride and put passengers’ safety first.

Taking the boat out at that hour of Thursday evening was “inexplicable.” The people who were killed as well as those injured could have been spared had different decisions been made by operators of the duck boat, he said.

Clifford is scheduled to speak Sunday evening on WGN radio, a talk radio station owned by Tribune Broadcasting that can be heard as far as Ontario, Canada..

In the meantime, community members gathered Friday night in the parking lot of the Ride the Ducks Branson to light candles and place flowers on the cars of the victims as a memorial.

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The National Weather Service had issued a severe thunderstorm watch for the Table Rock Lake area from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and about a half hour prior to the launch of the tragic duck boat, it issued a severe thunderstorm warning.

A watch means “when conditions are favorable for the development of severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area,” according to the National Weather Service (NWS). A severe thunderstorm warning, on the other hand, means that severe weather is imminent in the area or is already occurring based on human observation or radar.

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices in Chicago and a personal injury and wrongful death attorney who has handled numerous boat accident cases, said that it is imperative that duck boat Captains exercise prudent seamanship, especially checking all relevant weather forecasts and observations issued by the NWS and otherwise available from local sensors, starting 24 hours prior to departure and continuing periodically through the time of departure.  Duck boat manufacturers should establish wind and wave height limits and recommendations for their vehicles and the US Coast Guard should in turn assure that duck boat operators adhere to these limits and recommendations when planning and conducting their operations.  “These simple and important limits, recommendations, and operational practices would allow duck boat operators to safely plan and operate their vehicles, and would have prevented this tragedy at Table Rock Lake,” Clifford said.

Table Rock Lake in Missouri is considered a federal waterway over which the U.S. Coast Guard has regulatory authority. It has been reported that the duck boat that sank was 33 feet in length and was built in 1944 to deliver cargo from ships to shore during World War II.

Winds reportedly rose to 63 miles per hour on the lake and the waves were reported to be some three feet high when the Ride the Ducks Branson was out on the lake near Branson, Missouri. “Any boat will become unsafe in winds and waves greater than it is capable of handling, and duck boats are no exception,” Clifford said.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has investigators at the scene that are examining the wreckage, now at the bottom of the lake. Seventeen people were killed and 14 more injured that evening. The Coast Guard also is conducting an investigation with the assistance of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, according to media reports.

Investigators also are looking into the safety of the structure of the boat that has a canopy overhead and if that contributed to the deaths in this incident. The NTSB has warned that this type of roof could greatly increase the risk of passengers becoming trapped in the boat and drown.

Survivors of the sunken boat have told the media that the boat Captain told passengers there was no need to wear life jackets even shortly before the sinking when the winds and waves appeared dangerous, another seamanship, prudence, and safety issue that investigators are examining.

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The boat capsized then sunk to the bottom of the lake, killing 17 people on board, reportedly even small children. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating whether life jackets were on board and used.

Investigators also are looking into whether warnings about the weather were ignored and whether the boat should have been out at all. The U.S. Coast Guard also was helping in the rescue efforts.

The Ride the Ducks Branson tragedy is reported to be the deadliest tourist-related incident in years, with people aged 1 to 70 who perished. Among those who died are the driver of the boat; the captain reportedly survived and was taken to a nearby hospital. It is reported that 14 people survived.

Branson reportedly was under a severe thunderstorm warning issued at 6:30 p.m., about a half hour prior to the boat sinking. The National Weather Service in Springfield, Missouri, about 40 miles north of Branson, predicted winds up to 70 miles per hour Thursday for the area and had issued a severe thunderstorm watch from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. that day. The duck boat, carrying 29 passengers and two crew members, leaves approximately every half hour for a 40-minute ride.

Duck boats are amphibious vessels that travel on both land and water, and are popular among tourists in some cities and have been used since World War II. Following this tragedy, Missouri Governor Mike Parson announced he is considering new regulations of duck boats. Ripley Entertainment Inc., the reported owner of the boats, issued a public statement of condolences to the families involved.

We are Experienced Boat Accident Lawyers

Clifford Law Offices has been representing victims of serious boating and other vehicular accidents for over 30 years. The combined attorneys’ experience at the firm adds up to hundreds of years of personal injury and wrongful death work. A Clifford Law Offices’ boat accident attorney examines the cause of the accident. It can be an issue of machinery failure, manufacturing defects, improper maintenance, driver operation, inattention or inexperience, excessive speed, alcohol use, or environmental hazards or conditions. The law firm also will examine boat accident victims’ losses that include medical expenses, lost wages, future earnings, future medical care, pain and suffering, grief, sorrow and mental suffering, loss of quality of life and other possible damage claims.

If you or a loved one has been affected by a boating accident, contact us at 312-899-9090.

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709 Deaths – Boat accidents nationwide killed 709 Americans in 2008, 12 in Minnesota alone. The vast majority of the victims – 90% – drowned and were not wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident. Source: Boating Safety Resource Center, U.S. Coast Guard

1 per Person – The number of readily accessible, Coast Guard-approved life jackets per passenger you must have on board your boat. Source: Boating, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

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